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GTI Side Skirts Soft Plastic?

wlfpck

Ready to race!
Location
United States
The OEM side skirt is this plastic that seems pretty soft. Anyone have ways of keeping it from getting scratched up and gouged up?

Anyone know of a gloss black or a carbon fiber GTI side skirt replacement? I'd like to keep it the OEM style... but just carbon fiber or gloss black.
 

thaseint

Ready to race!
Location
Texas
Car(s)
'17 GTI SE 6MT
The OEM side skirt is this plastic that seems pretty soft. Anyone have ways of keeping it from getting scratched up and gouged up?

Anyone know of a gloss black or a carbon fiber GTI side skirt replacement? I'd like to keep it the OEM style... but just carbon fiber or gloss black.

I hate the exterior textured plastic bits just because they are so soft and kinda cheap so I've slowly started to get rid of them. For the skirts I went with ones from the facelift Golf R, they are the same ones used on the Clubsport in gloss black and little different from the GTI ones.

5G0853855B041
5G0853856B041

I think I paid around $700 shipped for the pair through E-ACCA. They sometimes pop up used on Ebay in the UK and Germany for a little cheaper. It's a straight PnP affair.

If you want you can buy these clips (5G0853493) just to be completely OEM but they aren't entirely necessary as the side bolts along with the screw in the middle hold them just fine. You'll need 4, 2 for each side and they are around $5 each...but again not entirely necessary.
 

wlfpck

Ready to race!
Location
United States
I hate the exterior textured plastic bits just because they are so soft and kinda cheap so I've slowly started to get rid of them. For the skirts I went with ones from the facelift Golf R, they are the same ones used on the Clubsport in gloss black and little different from the GTI ones.

5G0853855B041
5G0853856B041

I think I paid around $700 shipped for the pair through E-ACCA. They sometimes pop up used on Ebay in the UK and Germany for a little cheaper. It's a straight PnP affair.

If you want you can buy these clips (5G0853493) just to be completely OEM but they aren't entirely necessary as the side bolts along with the screw in the middle hold them just fine. You'll need 4, 2 for each side and they are around $5 each...but again not entirely necessary.

I thought the GTI ones has 1 screw at the bottom and the whole thing slides off. With this, i'll need to put in an extra screw on the bottom right?

But that's a pretty good idea. Didn't even think of the golf R side skirt.

I did find this while googling those part numbers:



Seems to be the gloss black version of the OEM GTI style. Rieger Tuning is selling the red piece that attaches... but that gloss black piece seems identical to the GTI ones but in gloss black.
 
Last edited:

thaseint

Ready to race!
Location
Texas
Car(s)
'17 GTI SE 6MT
I thought the GTI ones has 1 screw at the bottom and the whole thing slides off. With this, i'll need to put in an extra screw on the bottom right?

Seems to be the gloss black version of the OEM GTI style.

The skirts are actually a little different, they do not curve like the GTI ones do, they are pretty much just straight at a 45º angle like in the pic you posted. It's subtle but noticeable when placed side by side.

The skirts slide on just like the OEM GTI ones with the screw in the middle/bottom. There is also a screw (#6 in the picture below) in the rear that holds the rear flap thing on but that just involves removing a screw that holds the flap on and sandwiching the skirt in and putting the screw back.



The FL R/Clubsport skirts have provisions for 2 extra clips/screw things underneath; but like I mentioned they aren't totally necessary unless you want full OEM.

To do this you would buy 2 of these clips which go underneath the car after removing some body plugs.

Here's a pic of the clips on a face lift R, they are the 2 white clips on either side. Ignore the skirts in the pic, the owner replaced their FL skirts with pre-FL skirts.


I thought about doing the red Reiger skirt exetensions but I'm probably going to stick with a little more mild/OEM+ for now. :D

Currently working on trying to retro fit the gloss black from bumper spoilers from the facelift Golf R onto the GTI bumper just to match the skirts. That unfortunately will not be plug-and-play.
 

wlfpck

Ready to race!
Location
United States
The skirts are actually a little different, they do not curve like the GTI ones do, they are pretty much just straight at a 45º angle like in the pic you posted. It's subtle but noticeable when placed side by side.

The skirts slide on just like the OEM GTI ones with the screw in the middle/bottom. There is also a screw (#6 in the picture below) in the rear that holds the rear flap thing on but that just involves removing a screw that holds the flap on and sandwiching the skirt in and putting the screw back.

Shouldn't need that #6 screw right? If you have the studs that the side skirt slides onto, the bottom screw in the middle keeps it from moving/sliding off the mounting screws. The #6 screw isn't there for the OEM GTI side skirt. Could just leave it off and call it a day?
 

thaseint

Ready to race!
Location
Texas
Car(s)
'17 GTI SE 6MT
Shouldn't need that #6 screw right? If you have the studs that the side skirt slides onto, the bottom screw in the middle keeps it from moving/sliding off the mounting screws. The #6 screw isn't there for the OEM GTI side skirt. Could just leave it off and call it a day?

You actually do have the screw but the factory skirts don't use it. On the Clubsport skirts there is a hole in the rear that uses a screw.

Basically you unscrew the existing screw (#6) already on the car that holds piece #1 from the diagram I posted above and screw it back when you mounted the skirt. You technically don't even have to do this, in fact I didn't notice that until I went back a few months later and added the extra under body adapter/clips.

I'll try and take a pic when I get home tonight.
 

thaseint

Ready to race!
Location
Texas
Car(s)
'17 GTI SE 6MT
As promised here's a picture of the rear screw I was mentioning. If you look under your car it will make sense how it fits together.

Please excuse the mess, haven't had a lot of time to clean my undercarriage. Also, yes I will need new tires soon. :p

 
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